This is a replay from October 4, 2021. It was only for paid subscribers and I wanted to reprise it partly because not many people saw it and partly because I don’t have the new newsletter finished yet and partly because it’s super cool and I’m still dealing with this stuff, big time.
I have made additions and alterations to the original post. Here we go . . .
This exciting edition of the rohn report is about being your own doctor. It’s the latest in my series of health related posts for paid subscribers. Here’s to your health!
Every cell in our body is programmed to maintain homeostasis. It’s built into its DNA. That’s what they do. I think that’s important to know. In addition to that, all 17 trillion of our human cells (give or take a few) are in a communications network, talking to each other, checking in, calibrating, adjusting, responding.
In addition to that, we have 100 trillion (give or take a few) microbes (also called ‘the little people’) living in our gut and all over our body. They are in touch with us too. Believe it or not the little people actually communicate directly with our brain thru the vagus nerve. This nerve collects information from all along the alimentary canal and sends it to the medulla oblongata at the base of our brain. The medulla oblongata belongs to the most primitive part of our brain, the lizard brain if you will. That means the most primitive life forms are communicating with the most primitive part of our brain? Uh huh. Think of the possibilities there.
Being your own doctor is simply about listening to what your body (or your little people) are saying and responding to it. A conversation. In our external, social life the most dynamic conversations are usually the most spontaneous and fun ones. In fact it’s one of the great (although somewhat forgotten) pleasures of life. I would like to suggest that the conversation we can have with our own body also needs to be spontaneous and fun. This is consulting with our internal doctor, Dr. You, and it should be as dynamic as possible so we can exchange as much information as possible and understand it.
So what the heck am I talking about? I’m talking about the language of our body, recognizing that it has a language first of all, and that it’s pretty much talking to us all the time.
Every ache and pain, every unsettled stomach, every sleepless night, every weird dream is a message from your body to you. In my experience the unsettled stomach and the weird dreams seem to be connected, as if the little people were directing a message thru my vagus nerve and medulla oblongata to my sleeping self. I know, it sounds crazy. It took me a while to wrap my mind around it too.
The little people can be stressed out and unhappy, just like us. They have to deal with whatever we swallow, whatever moods we entertain. The vagus nerve doesn’t communicate in one direction only - what’s happening in our brain can also influence the little people living in our gut.
I would like to point out something that is obvious to everyone: our body (or our little people) do not speak English; in fact they seem to have no interest in learning. That means we have to learn their language.
If that’s all too vague and/or unbelievable, here’s a simple method for establishing a conversation with your body. I call it ‘You Yoga’ - doing movement that stimulates different parts of your body and registering the feedback.
This 4 minute and 22 second video of me doing You Yoga, pretty much demonstrates what I’ve been trying to say. It’s called ‘body work’.
Breathing. It’s the most basic rhythm of life. It’s also a conduit of communication. Breathe. Feel the rhythm. It sets a tone for the communication, it tunes in our attention to whatever our body is trying to say to us. Too much noise in our head to hear it sometimes.
Lastly and bestly of all, Dr. You does not charge for his or her services, makes house calls and is available 24/7. Don’t worry about the health insurance or the pharmacy, this is all internal. Basically, it’s just a simple acknowledgement that each and every one of our 17 trillion cells are programmed for homeostasis. We need to let them do their job, help them do their job by recognizing and responding to their messages.
Good luck and have fun with your conversation. It really is an entertaining and enriching experience. I’m still learning and I think the nuance and sensitivity of this conversation probably has no end. No end in sight so far : )
Dr. You II